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People throw paper airplanes during a demonstration outside Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard's office in Montreal, Sunday, April 9, 2017, to protest recent pay hikes and bonuses to Bombardier's top executives.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

Bombardier Inc. confirmed that it will make two changes to its executive compensation package for 2016 in line with requests made over the past week by its senior leadership.

The Montreal-based plane maker said in a regulatory filing Monday that directors approved a request by Pierre Beaudoin, the company's executive chairman, to reset his compensation to 2015 levels. He will forfeit $1.4-million (U.S.) as a result of the change.

Directors also approved a separate request by Alain Bellemare, Bombardier chief executive, to defer by one year the potential payment of more than half of the total projected 2016 compensation for the company's six named executive officers.

The six men all agreed to waive their right to exercise stock options granted to them in August, 2016, as part of the new plan, the company said.

The change will further align the pay of these executives with the longer-term financial performance of Bombardier as the extended performance period comes into force, the company said.

The changes come following a public uproar about the initial compensation awarded to Bombardier's top executives for 2016, which amounted to a collective increase of 48 per cent over the year before. Critics have said it is indecent to give such raises, given the company is benefiting from more than $1-billion in public support to back its turnaround.

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